How did I get Here?
by ilovedraco96
Summary: Peyton Olivia Miller was an ordainary Harry Potter fan-girl.  Ordainary, until she one day wakes up on a train. Wakes up, on Hogwarts Express. She decides to go along with it, until she sees her face on a regular muggle milk carton.
1. Prolauge

Prologue

I clutched the book. It was hard cover. As soon as I saw it, I needed to buy it. I just finished rereading it. Yes, I already read it. Why, I don't know. There is something so wonderful about it. It's the magic that lures me in. The plot, the characters, the spells; these are the things I get so caught up in.

What was this book? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, my ultimate favorite book. Why? I had no clue.

As I clutched that book, I was heading from London towards another destination. I had no clue what it was. Only that it would get me home again from the station, to an air port, back home. Home, sweet home.

It's not that I don't like the fact that my step dad is British, and the fact I had to stay with my step-grandparent (?) for the past three weeks, I just wanted to get home.

Today was September 1st. Honest to god, my favorite day of the year. It was about 10:10 in the morning, and I couldn't help but look around for my favorite characters. Yes, I have reached extreme Harry Potter nerdiness. Nerdiness, is that even a word?

My train left at precisely 11:00 in the morning, right on station 9. I almost begged my grandma to get a train at this station. Things just got worse in the nerd factor.

I noticed a red haired boy start to come towards me. He was tall, lanky looking. He reminded me of Ron Weasley. Almost too close. But, the fact of the matter is, he's a fictional character. I knew that. When he passed, I saw blue eyes. Not just the ordinary blue, but BLUE eyes. The color was ocean blue. As he passed, the lanky boy's freckles stood out. Man, he must be Hugo or someone. I chuckled at myself.

About twenty minutes passed until he came again. This time, he smiled. He smiled, big. I couldn't help myself but smile back. Soon, he was joined by a twin. In the distance, I could see a care free smile on them. Is it me, or did I see a huge resemblance on them and the Weasley twins?

Oh well, soon, I didn't see them any longer. I was quite disappointed, in truth. I decided to start heading closer to the direction.

Very suddenly, my stomach started to rumble. I wanted food. I had only twenty minutes to get some, but I was starving. I headed towards a Subway restaurant that was nearby. I got a sandwich that had only white cheese.. It was really simple. It was just how I liked it.

I was eating as fast as I could after I paid and sat down. The next thing heard was some whispers.

"Is that her? The one with the brown curly hair?" I almost crapped myself as I was staring at my curls.

The next thing I knew, I was knocked out.


	2. The Train Ride

**A/N So, what's up? Thanks for the reviews, because of those, it got me enough courage to upload the second chapter. Um, My character's name is Peyton Olivia Miller. She's fifteen years old, right? So, and she fall's for a certain twin. You know his name, FRED! Half the dialauge belongs to JK Rowling. I skipped some from the book because she didn't have to do with any of it. Harry's third year! I said that Peyton wonders if Neville knew he had a future, because Neville was doubted when he grew up and he bascially gave himself no credit, whatsoever. BYE! **

**Disclaimer (c) I sure wish I was JK Rowling. If I were, Fred wouldn't have died. I thought Percy would be better because he just showed respect to the family again, and it'll get more respect for his character.. just my opinion though, no facts inbetween. **

Chapter 1- Train Ride

I awoke to the sound of a door sliding. A train compartment door, it was. Little drops of rain were splashing about on the window.

Three younger people were coming through the door as I started to look at my surroundings. Two boys and one girl. One had extraordinarily frizzy hair, and overgrown teeth. She was merely pretty. Her brown eyes stood out. Another was fairly tall. And when I say tall, I meant TALL. He was taller than the both of them. He was a smaller and younger version of the boy I saw earlier. He was covered almost literally head to toe in freckles. Once again, I found myself staring at blue eyes. The first thing I noticed about the last person who came in, was his eyes. Emerald green eyes, which I could probably see from a mile away without my contacts or glasses. He had glasses that were out of style, yet he seemed to suit them. His hair was very messy. It seems it was, like Miley Cyrus, as it "can't be tamed." Though, there was something on his forehead...

The green eyes squinted. "Who-who are you? I don't think we've ever seen you before."

I cleared my throat. "Oh, yes. I'm Peyton. Peyton Miller." I held out my hand for them to shake. It seemed polite. They all shook it. They seemed quite familiar. My eyes widened.

_The Golden Trio. _

The one with black hair introduced himself first. "I'm Harry, Harry Potter." I knew I was dreaming. This has got to be the oddest dream I've ever had, though. It seemed real though. It made sense, too.

"Ron" Muttered, "Ron Weasley. Most people just call me Ron. Others call me Ronald. You decide." He smiled brightly.

The girl, Hermione, introduced herself as well. "Hermione Granger. If you don't mind me asking, where are you from?"

I expected this. I simply answered, "Canada. I decided to transfer myself to Hogwarts."

So, yes. It was official, Harry Potter was real. Ron's eyes tended to wonder next to myself. Man, Lupin looked absolutely nothing like he is portrayed in the films. He is covered in scars. And when I say covered, I meant COVERED. It made me wonder what him, Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail did while dealing with "Moony's little furry problem."

He has no clue I know who he is. I think its best I kept it like that. I'll try and stop myself from saying something stupid. "Who do you reckon he is?" Ron questioned.

Before I could stop myself, I answered. "Professor R.J Lupin" Hermione seemed surprised, seeing as she was the one who answered in the books.

"How do you know that?" He asked. Great, now I am girl- who- seems- to- show off.

"It's on his suitcase." Hermione stated, pointing up. What came next in the book was a description of the letters that was on the suitcase. That's how it should've been. I don't belong here, yet it seemed real. I would think I was dreaming, though my imagination can't come up with things like this.

"I wonder what he teaches," said Ron, frowning at Professor Lupin's pallid profile.

"That's obvious," whispered Hermione. "There's only one vacancy, isn't there? Defense against the Dark Arts."

"Oh, right. I heard Hogwarts had two different professors in the past two years." I said, trying to sound casual. At this point, the book was explaining what I just said. Which lead me to the fact that Harry was thinking about it? "Um, Quirrell, and I think, Gilderoy Lockhart. Charming smile, terrible taste in character."

The group seemed to lighten up a bit. "Well, I hope he's up for it," said Ron doubtfully. "He looks like one good hex could finish him off, doesn't he?" I couldn't help myself but be a tad grim. "Anyway, what were you about to tell us?"

Harry kind of looked at me awkwardly. I understood. The conversation was only meant for the few of them. I decided to go and hang with people my own age. "I get it, right. I don't really know you three. I'll leave." I was about to open the door, when Harry stopped me-

"No, it's alright. It's about Sirius Black escaping from Azkaban." Harry soon tried to explain about what he's overheard in Mr. and 's argument, and Mr. Weasley's warning that he had just received. Every now and then, Harry would pause and explain something to me. I tried to be patient, because I already knew about everything that was going on, and that was going to happen. But, I simply just nodded my head. After he'd finished, Hermione had a hand over mouth, and Ron looked dumbstruck. I think I possibly tried to, but it didn't exactly work.

Finally, Hermione lowered her hand to say, "Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban to come after you? Oh, Harry… you'll have to be really, really careful. Don't go looking for trouble, Harry…"

"I don't go looking for trouble," said Harry, nettled.

I nodded my head, to show that I understood what was going on. "Trouble usually finds you."

Harry looked up, and smiled. "Exactly."

"How thick would Harry have to be, to go looking for someone who wants to kill him?" said Ron shakily.

I whispered to Harry so the other two couldn't hear, "They seem to be more afraid of Black then you are." He nodded, smiling.

"No one knows how Black got out of Azkaban," said Ron, uncomfortably. "No one's ever done it before. And he was a top-security prisoner, too."

"But they'll catch Black, won't they? I mean, everyone's looking for him. They even got some muggles on the search for him, too."

"What's that noise?" Ron said suddenly. It took me a moment to realize that I was mouthing the same thing as my favorite three characters from my favorite book series. I spaced out for a bit. Draco Malfoy came, he was stunning. I couldn't help myself but stare. His bleach blonde hair was incredibly silky. He was even hotter then Tom Felton. I wanted to melt. Although, when he looked at me, he showed a bit of disgust.

"Who are you?" Draco asked bad tone in his voice.

"Draco Malfoy. I thought you would've been a bit cooler, but I was wrong. Any ways, my name is Peyton." He kind of paused, then left. When I looked at the three, they all gave me an approving thumb up. I smiled to myself. Suddenly, I felt a whole lot more confident. Until, the train stopped. More people were in the compartment now, which made it a whole lot more confusing.

"What's going on?" said Ron's voice from behind Harry.

"Ouch!" gasped Hermione. "Ron that was my foot!"

Harry felt his way back to his seat.

"Do you think we've broken down?"

"Dunno…"

There was another squeaking sound, and I saw the dim outline patch of Ron, wiping a patch clean on the window and peering out.

"There's something moving out there," Ron said. "I think people are coming aboard..."

The compartment door suddenly opened, and I felt a slight bump into my toe, making a person trip onto Harry's lap. "Sorry! Do you know what's going on? Ouch! Sorry-"

"Hullo Neville," said Harry, voice going in all places. Suddenly, I felt a slight brush, which told me Neville was on his feet once again.

"Harry, is that you? What's happening?"

"No idea! Sit down-"When he tried sitting, he ended up sitting on me.

"Oops!" I yelled as the weight of Neville's but landed on my lap.

"Sorry!" He yelled at me. I wondered if he knew he just sat on someone who knew he had a future.

"I'm going to go and ask the driver what's going on," came Hermione's voice. I felt her try to get pass me, heard the sound of the door open once again and then a thud and two loud squeals of pain.

"Who's that?"

"Who's that?"

"Ginny?"

"Hermione?"

"What are you doing?"

"I was looking for Ron-"

"Come in, and sit down-"

"Not here! I'm here!" Harry yelled hurriedly.

"Ouch!" said Neville

"Quiet!" I and professor Lupin had yelled. I suddenly remembered having to love yelling this line, and always wanted to see what it would look like on screen, but never got the chance to.

Of course everyone else was staring at the new figure that seemed to be moving right beside me. Yet, I acted like it was something that tended to happen daily. None of us spoke.

There was a soft, cackling noise and a shivering light that filled the compartment. Professor Lupin appeared to be holding a handful of flames. They illuminated his tired grey face, but his eyes seemed alert and wary.

"Stay where you are," he said, in the same hoarse voice he used when he yelled along with me. He slowly got to his feet, handful of fire right in front of him. I braced myself from jumping. Of course, having read Joanne Kathleen's books, I was the only one who knew what grabbed the door before Lupin had a chance to.

It was a dementor. It's face was completely hidden beneath it's hood. My eyes scanned the dementor, and what I saw made me vomit a bit. There was a hand protruding from the cloak, and it was glistening, grayish, slimy-looking and scabbed, like something dead and had decayed in the water…

The dementor suddenly went towards Harry. It seemed to open his mouth. In the movie, you could see something like Daniel Radcliffe's skin seem to go towards the creature. Here, all you can see is the dementor, and Harry. Harry did seem to have a fit. All of us started to get a bit frightened. Until Lupin used the patronus charm and Harry fainted.

Yes, Harry Potter fainted. Shortly after, though, the train lights seemed to start to work again, and we were moving once more. While he was down, they tried many ways to try and get him awake. Knowing the third book, I pushed the others out of the way, and took a smack at Harry's face. That woke him up.

"W-what?"

I quickly tried to help him in his seat. Meanwhile, Ron and Hermione seemed like they were in bit of shock.

"Are you okay?" Ron asked him nervously.

"Yeah," said Harry, looking quickly towards the door. "What happened? Where's that- that thing? Who screamed?"

"No one screamed," Ron said, more nervously still. Everyone except Lupin and I seemed very nervous. I could also tell, as I saw their skin was pale as my cell phone. Crapo, my cell phone! Oh well.

"But I heard screaming-" A loud snap made everyone excluding me jump. Moony was breaking an enormous slab of chocolate into small pieces.

"Here," he said to Harry, handing him a particularly large amount of chocolate. "Eat it, it'll help."

Harry took the chocolate, but he didn't eat it.

"What was that thing?" He asked Lupin.

"A dementor," I answered. Every head turned to look at me. Two of them were quite confused. Neville and Ginny, because they had no clue I existed. I smiled a bit shyly. "One of the many dementors who help guard Azkaban." Lupin looked a bit impressed as he started to pass chocolate to the others, including me.

"Eat," he repeated. "It'll help. I need to speak to the driver, excuse me…" He strolled pass Harry and disappeared into the corridor.

Harry watched Lupin disappear, than turned to face us again. "I don't get it… what happened?" said Harry, wiping more sweat off his face.

"Well-that thing-"

"Dementor," I interrupted. Oh, deer, I was starting to sound like Hermione.

"The dementor- stood there and looked around (I mean I think it did, I couldn't see its face) - and you- you,"

"I thought you were having a fit or something," said Ron, still looking scared. "You sort of went rigid and fell right out of your seat and started twitching-"

"And professor Lupin stepped over you, and walked towards the dementor, and pulled out his wand," said Hermione. "And he said, 'None of us is hiding Sirius Black underneath our cloaks. Go.' But the dementor didn't move, so Lupin muttered something, and a silvery thing shot out of his wand at it, and it turned around and sort of glided away…"

"It was horrible," said Neville, voice particularly high. "Did you feel how cold it went when it came in?"

That was true. I had my worst memories sort of running through my mind.

"It felt weird," said Ron, clutching his shoulders uncomfortably. "Like I'd never feel cheerful again…"

My eyes started to wander back towards my chocolate. It was starting to melt in my finger tips. I started nibbling, and suddenly felt warmth spread throught my body. When I looked up, I saw Ginny huddled in the corner of the opposite seat. She looked as bad as Harry did: gave a small sob; Hermione went over and put a comforting arm around her.

"But didn't any of you- fall off your seats?" said Harry awkwardly.

"No," said Ron, "but Ginny was shaking like mad, though..."

I was nibbling on my chocolate in the awkward silence. The only sound was Crookshank's purrs.

Professor Lupin had come back. He paused in the entrance of the compartment with a smug smile on his face. "Seems to me that only one person trusts me on this train," he muttered, looking straight at me. When he saw the priceless expressions on our faces, he chuckled, and explained. "I haven't poisoned that chocolate, you know." I came in to realization. I was the only one who knew what the chocolate was for, plus, I was feeling quite hungry. "We'll be there in about ten minutes," Lupin said, and bent down near Harry. "Are you alright, Harry?"

"I'm fine," he said sheepishly.

Neville, looking eager to get out of the dark atmosphere, introduced himself. "This is the most interesting way to meet a person, yet. Hi, I'm Neville, Neville Longbottom," the boy said cheerfully, holding out his hand.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Peyton Miller." I told him.

"Ginny," she whispered shyly. It was hard to believe she was the girl who stole Harry's heart when she was at a young age in the series. "Ginny Weasley. Ron's little sister."

I laughed a bit. "I guessed that, seeing as you have the same last names."

Suddenly, Ginny went from young and vulnerable, to cheerful and happy. "That's true."


	3. First Experiance

_**Hi there! Thank you for everyone who reviewed! I like getting the Favorite Alerts too, but when it's not the Review AND favorite, that kinda dissapoints me. I know it's short, but next chapter you'll get to see the chemistry of Fred and Peyton start to, Blossom. Take in note, that half this dialauge belongs to Joanne Kathleen Rowling. I just put it through her point of view. **_

_**Disclaimer! I own nothing but Peyton Oliva Miller!**_

Chapter 2

Hogwarts was incredible. It felt so enchanting. I was seeing ghosts, moving pictures, everything I could've imagined. Surprisingly, when I looked through my luggage, there was a fresh Hogwarts robe. I don't know how on earth I got this robe, but I just decided to forget it, and put the robe on.

I had no clue how I was going to be sorted. I took various amounts of quizzes online, and most of them said Hufflepuff or Gryffindor. I hope its Gryffindor, though. Though, Professor McGonagall walked up to me and told me, "You'll be sorted like any other first year. When Dumbledore calls your name, you will come up from sitting with who you would like to sit with, and we shall place the hat on you." I nodded, and then decided to sit by some what looked like Gryffindor fifth years.

McGonagall then took Hermione and Harry off to Madame Pomfrey's about the dementor. This year, the sorting was done by Professor Flitwick. It was considerably funny, seeing as he had to be on a 2-foot tall stool in order to call the first years and them able to hear it. When the last first year was sorted, it was expected that Professor would scamper off the stool, but didn't. Professor Dumbledore stood up, and made a quick announcement. "This year, we have a new student from Canada, her name is Peyton Miller. She will be in fifth year, and a bright one, at that," Dumbledore said, giving a warm smile at me. Blue piercing eyes like his would be expected to be mean, but his eyes were very courteous and friendly.

I started off in the middle of the Great Hall towards the Sorting Hat. When reaching the hat, I awkwardly turned around to hundreds of anxious faces staring back at me.

_Whoa. _

I put on the hat, and a voice suddenly came bursting into my head. _Hmm_, the hat said. _Plenty of courage, willing to stand up for yourself, and loyalty is proven throught your years. You seemed to be a bit confused. No worries, though._ _I know just where to put you. _I braced myself. I really hoped it wasn't Sly-

"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat boomed across the hall. The Gryffindor table jumped in pleasure, all waiting to greet me, in shaking hands. Names started to jump out at me all at once, like those pixies that Lockhart once let loose.

"Seamus Finnegan"

"Lavendar Brown"

"Oliver Wood"

"Dean Thomas"

"Lee Jordan"

"George Weasley"

There a lot of names I recognized, some names just seemed to pop in mid-air like J.K Rowling just created them and decided to add them to the story.

"Angelina Johnson"

"Katie Bell"

"Samantha Clarke"

Other tables mean while, seemed to be chatting, until Dumbledore did the least most expected thing. Especially if you saw him on the streets. He seemed to be, about, what, 150? "Quiet!"

When I looked back at the front of the hall, the sorting hat and table was gone, and Dumbledore was stood up, with a great bold owl singling he would like to talk. "Welcome!" he said, candlelight shining brightly against his face. His long beard was almost touching the ground, and it suited him. Remembering the Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, it seemed impossible that he was ever as young and naïve as I am now. Especially with someone such as Gellert Grinewald. "For the Greater Good," Pfft.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it is best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast…"

Dumbledore stopped short, cleared his throat then continued. "As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the Dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business."

He paused in a dramatic effect, and then continued. Was it just me, or was Harry really the only one who showed emotion? Probably only because no one else's emotion was written. I would have to take that into account…

"They are stationed at every entrance on the grounds," Dumbledore continued, "and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be tricked by fools or disguises, or even Invisibility cloaks," he added blandly, I smirked at myself while Ron and Harry looked at each other. "It is not in the nature in a Dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the Prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure no students runs foul of the Dementors.

Everyone started to glance at Percy, who stuffed out his chest impressively and importantly. I raised an eyebrow, something I would always do when my best friend made a dumb remark. Fred or George, I didn't know which one whispered, "Oh, it get's worse. Trust me, after living with him so long." I burst out laughing, to what my mom calls, 'The Hyena Laugh'.

"On a happier note," Dumbledore spoke again, I still breathing heavily, "I am pleased to welcome Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was some scattered, rather unenthusiastic, applause. Only those who have been in the compartment on the train with him clapped hard, especially me. Now, I do say so myself, I am a huge Lupin fan. He looked rather shabby compared to all of the other teachers sitting at the grand table.

My eyes switched to Snape, and I felt sudden remorse for him. Poor guy, always having to help Harry out of his own will. He, Dumbledore, and I were the only ones in the hall who knew why he was even there. I bet it must be torture to have to teach potions, especially because a certain red-haired, green eyed girl was top class in it.

"As to our second new appointment," Dumbledore continued, as the lukewarm applause for Lupin died away, "well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of the year, in order to enjoy spending time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to announce that his place will be taken none other than our own Rubeus Hagrid who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties."

I joined in with the enthusiastic Gryffindor table's applause. Harry even jumped to his feet. The Slytherins did too, and started to boo. Oh well, you could barely hear them over the Gryffindors.

"Well, I think that's everything of importance. Let the feast, begin!" Dumbledore exclaimed. Suddenly, the golden plates filled up of food made exclusively by the house elves from the kitchen.

When I took the first bite, warmth just filled my mouth. "Man, those house elves can cook!" I exclaimed. Sure, my mother was good, but these guys could win Iron Chef if they wanted to!

Hermione looked across the table at me with a look of horror. "House elves made this? I can't eat this!" She dropped her ham, and crossed her arms.

I did a face palm. I think I started SPEW a year early.

.


	4. A tour

**ZOMFG!**

**Alrighty, everyone. Sorry it's been so long. I wanted to give you guys an extra speacial treat this chapter, and make it a little longer. Also, the plot kind of went wonky and all sorts of directions that I really didn't need, or want it to go. First of all, I think that Peyton would be a moody type. Kind of like Harry, except she can remain the same mood for much more longer. And then there's the reasearch. After figuring out all what I need, trying to copy from the book, it just takes a while, you know? **

**I would apprecitate, for people who review, to not say, "Oh, I've been waiting forever!" Or, "FINALLY!" It really bugs me, because I worked super duper long on this chapter. If I have any grammar mistakes, feel free to correct them. Thanks for being so, patient. I really really appreciate it. **

**All characters belong to JK Rowling, all except Peyton. She's my own original character :) **

**Now, what you've been waiting for:**

Chapter 4

Walking around the castle for the first time, it wasn't hard to figure out why Harry and Ron lost their way on their first year. Hogwarts is enormous. I mean, there's the movie Hogwarts that belongs to Warner Brothers, and there's the REAL Hogwarts. It's probably twice as big, and twice as high. I mean, sure, they have a miniature version of it, and then, there's the actual set, and then there's Hogwarts, a school discovered by four wizards and witches, on the coast just off Scotland and Britain.

It seemed to me that every where I went, there was either a moving picture, a flight of stairs, or a new room yet to discover. On my first night, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Katie Bell had all introduced themselves. Angelina was stunning. Her dark skin seemed to fit her personality, and the way she walked, it made it seem like she was confident, and proud of herself, which made her even more beautiful. Katie was also quite confident. She had a tomboy thing going on. She didn't exactly wear sweats or anything, but she walked the halls with her head held high and a smile on her face. Katie almost seemed the type to be one rough, and, "one of the guys," but really, using Daniel Radcliffe's words, "she wouldn't hurt a fly." Katie was also a year younger then the rest of us girls, but she introduced herself happily when seeing me walk into the corridor with Hermione. Alicia, she seemed indescribable. She was quite sarcastic at first, and just when you think you know her, you don't. At first, when she made her first remark, she kind of made me thought, "Hmm, so she's the sarcastic type." But then, she accidentally bumped into Angelina and started to freak out, throwing "Sorry's" at her. She's just about got the range of Harry, not quite, but she does switch around her mood a lot.

That morning, Angelina, Alicia, and Katie all tried showing me around the castle a bit before the first day of classes. It was hard showing amazement, seeing the size of it all. In seeing my expression, Katie started giggling a bit. When she finally calmed down, she explained with, "Sorry about that. It's just you look so stunned. But really, when you get used to this place, it's really not that big. It get's smaller as the years go by."

_I doubt it._

"Seriously, Katie's right. This place is actually home, to us now. And it doesn't even seem that big until we see the outside once again," Angelina agreed.

_I sure hoped so. _

"Come on, I'm pretty sure that breakfast is about to start soon. You don't really want to miss first breakfast of the year," Alicia exclaimed.

"You just want to see Wood before he heads to his first class," Angelina snorted.

"_Oliver_ Wood," I asked, squinting.

"Yup. She has a huge crush on him since third year," Katie teased.

I shook my head, delirious. God, I sure wished my straightener worked here. My curls were too bouncy for my liking. As most people know, Muggle technologies don't really work at Hogwarts. I have to speak with Dumbledore about that…

Taking some turns around the castle, we finally made it to the Great Hall. As we entered the Great Hall, some other students seemed to stare a bit. I suddenly became a little less sure of myself. "Um, why are they staring?" I asked.

"We don't usually get many new students here at Hogwarts, only the first years, so, you, are a gossip item right now. Don't worry, it'll blow over before September is even over," Alicia assured me over her shoulder.

Despite Alicia's assuring, I still felt a little queasy. I wasn't always the best in front of crowds.

Alicia spotted Oliver, and a smile appeared on her face, immediately. She rushed over to him, with Angelina walking slowly behind her. Katie shook her head and grabbed Angelina's hand before she could go any further, and yanked her over to a different part of the Gryffindor table. Sort of clueless, I followed them over to the table, awkwardly sitting down across Angelina and Katie. Next to me, was the same Blue eyed boy I saw before getting into this mess.

He gave me a cocky smile, and I immediately swooned over it. You know those types of boys you just can't help, but, you know, swoon? Well, he was one of them. Next to him, was a twin. He looked different, in a way. They seemed alike, yet they wore their smiles differently. The one next to me, took out his hand, "I'm Fred Weasley, I shook your hand last night, although you were head to toe deep in the crowd, hands were just jumping at you," he joked.

Funny, that was what I was thinking at the time. "And next to me, is my brother, George. If you haven't noticed already, he's also my twin brother, just in case you haven't noticed," he smirked.

"Yes, I noticed," I replied, blushing. Seriously, what was wrong with me? Did it just take one guy, who's supposed to be fictional, to get me like this? Wow, I needed to get out more often.

"I can introduce myself, thank you very much, although, you kind of already did, so that just cancels that out," George points out.

Angelina started giggling and getting out some Cereal. I took a look, and the front said, 'Cheeri-Owls.'

I poured them into the bowl in front of me, smiling. Man, you got to love alternatives, even in the Wizard world. For a couple of minutes, I sat there, eating the cereal. It tasted warm; better, it was like eating chocolate for the first time. Abruptly, a sound of loud laughter boomed across the hall, coming from the Slytherin table. I looked up, and saw Draco Malfoy pretending to faint like Harry did on the train, with a roar of laughter surrounding him.

"Hey, Potter!" An obnoxious voice shrieked. I looked at the source, and it was a girl with short black hair, with a face similar to a pug's. Pansy Parkinson. "Potter! The Dementors are coming, Potter! Wooooo!"

Suddenly, new weight was on the bench of the Gryffindor table, not far from where I was sitting. "New third year timetables," said George passing them over. "Oh, I almost forgot, McGonagall told me to give you yours as well, Peyton," he said, passing them over Fred's head.

"Thanks, George," I smiled, taking my schedule, or rather, timetable.

"What's up with you, Harry?" George asked.

"Malfoy," said Ron, squeezing between Fred and George, and glaring at the Slytherin table.

George looked up to see Draco faint in terror once again.

_There's more than meets the eye_, I wanted to tell them.

"That little git," he said calmly. "He wasn't so cocky last night when the Dementors were down our end of the train. Came running right into our compartment, didn't he, Fred?"

"Nearly wet himself," said Fred giving a contemptuous glance at Draco.

"I wasn't too happy myself," said George, "They're horrible things those Dementors…"

"They sort of freeze your insides, don't they?" said Fred.

"You didn't pass out, though, did you?" said Harry in such a low voice I could barely hear it.

"Forget it, Harry," said George bracingly. "Dad had to go out to Azkaban one time, remember, Fred? And he said it was the worst place he'd ever been. He came back all weak and shaking… They almost suck the happiness out of a place, Dementors. Most of the prisoners go mad in there."

"Anyways, we'll see how happy Malfoy looks after our first Quidditch match," said Fred. "Gryffindor versus Slytherin, first game of the season, remember?"

Across the table, Angelina gave Fred an ecstatic high five, and he also gave one to George, over Ron's head, who was squinting at Hermione's schedule. Katie jokingly said, "Hey, don't I count?"

"Oh, alright," Angelina jokingly sighed, then high-fived her best friend.

I looked at my schedule, a little panicked. "Man, today's going to be a little harsh on me," I frowned.

Fred replied cockily with, "What ever do you mean?"

"Oh, very funny. I've only been in around this castle twice. And once, was just to get to the common room. I'll have absolutely no clue where I'll be going," I sighed.

"No worries, George and I have first class with you, which is Potions. This'll be oh so very fun. Worse, we have it with Slytherin. And, how about we just skip lunch, and I'll give you the ultimate tour."

I smiled. "Sure," I replied.

When I looked up to see what was casting a shadow on my now empty bowl, I was startled. Hagrid was standing there, making lessons for his first day of teaching, although he was just starting to walk away, while Fred, George, Angelina, and Katie were all laughing at my foolishness. "Jeeze he scared the bajeebers out of me!"

"No kidding!" sputtered out Angelina between laughs.

I face palmed. When Hermione, Ron, and Harry were rushing their food down to get to first class, I noticed something shining on Hermione's robes. It said, 'SPEW.' My eyes immediately widened. Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare.

Indeed, SPEW has come a year early. I have honestly got to be more careful.

About minutes later, I realized I really DO have to be careful. I mean, one thing I say could change the series the way Jo written it in an instance. I could be a cause for a dramatic effect. Cause in effect. Like SPEW. I can mention things that they already know about, but, just in case, I got to keep my mouth shut.

Fred, Angelina, George, and I were all on our way to getting our books. I almost started freaking out, because I had none. I opened my trunk, to see fresh, brand new potions book, for fifth years. I was slightly confused. I didn't know weather to be asking questions, or just to go with it. My mind was already messed enough from the fast thirty six hours, so I decided to take my books.

On my way to catch up with Angelina, I discovered something pointy, and long from underneath my Gryffindor robes. A wand. I tried to hide my excitement. I've already got a replica of Neville's wand online, but this, could actually do something. I whispered, "Lumos," suddenly, a small light bursted from the wand. I squealed, whispered the spell, "Nox," and then caught up with the three who were waiting down stairs, not as patiently as they could be.

Potions with Snape, was hell. I surely tried to understand why he was bitter. Seeing as the girl he loved stopped being his best friend after one simple mistake, and married his old school bully. Now, he has to take care and watch over the two's son, even after lying and repeatedly being called a coward. But, he was a bit of a dick. He seemed to care for no one else. Only to prove to himself that he was the one who deserved Lily Evans back then, and even now.

We walked in a little late. Only two minutes, but I beg to differ. Fred started goofing off, and without any hesitation, George joined, only to get them in a bit of a fight. (A pretend, one though.) I tried telling them we would be late for class, only to stop and start laughing in the middle of my sentence after seeing them suddenly pretend to act like ninjas. Yes, ninjas. You read right. Ninjas, in a British accent. You won't ever see anything like it. Ever.

When Snape saw us arrive, he was in the middle of explaining what he was teaching the class this year, and stopped up short when the four of us walked in the classroom. He immediately commented, "So, it seems that our new student seems to think that she is too good to arrive on time."

I raised my eyebrows, as in, _Are you serious?_ Then simply replied with, "Sorry, Professor. We just got a bit- well, distracted,"

As I was speaking, I saw some Slytherin fifth year girls whispering. One was pointing, and the other was giggling. I mouthed at them, _Do you got a problem?_ And, they immediately stopped.

"My fault," Fred exclaimed proudly. Everyone turned from their conversations, to face the twins. No one knew which one had said it, although you could probably recognize those boy's voices from a mile away, and I just met them last night.

From there on, everything seemed to go down hill. He took off ten points from Gryffindor, for, "Acting selfishly and interrupting his class." As punishment, I got to sit and be partners with a Slytherin, and let me tell you, I could tell why he was a Slytherin. The only concerns about our assignment, was, well, me. He kept telling me not to mess up, or do anything to our project. So, I just stood by, watching him make a fool of himself. That part was the highlight of my morning.

Next block I had History of Magic with fifth year Hufflepuffs. The only word I can use to describe that class is, well, dull. That class seems to want to make me go to sleep. I think both twins were, eventually. Professor Binns spoke in the same tone of voice all period long. He didn't seem all that interested in History. Kind of like my teacher last year who hated the subject she was teaching. Which was frankly, ironically, history.

After class, Fred caught up with me in halls. "Ready for your tour," he asked, smirking.

"Shouldn't we put our books away, first?"

"George is on it," he replied.

"George is on what?" George asked, speaking in third person.

"George will you be a gem and put away my books? Just give Peyton's for Angelina. I'm going to give this newbie, a tour."

George raised his eyebrows, and stubbornly took our books and left with Angelina close behind him.

"I'm pretty sure you know, but, above us, is the staircase. They sort of like to change."

"I suppose that's good, change is pretty good for the normal staircase," I smirked.

"Yes, why yes it is."

Fred was, actually a good tourist. He seemed to have the idea. "Now on your left, is a hidden stair case that leads to Hogsmeade."

I decided to play on, seeing if I could get any information about the Marauder's map. "And how do you know that?"

"Secret," he replied cockily.

Darn, I guess I'll have to wait. Although I hope it happens before the first trip, that's when the twins give the map to Harry.

He showed me plenty of rooms, McGonagall's office, where Dumbledore is, the Great Hall, girl's and boy's lavatory, anything you could imagine. Some things, he spoke about in great detail, which I wish he didn't.

What's odd about it, is the fact that I seemed to be blushing more then when I fell down the stairs at a friends house, who never let's anything go. When we returned to the Great Hall, I sat down next to Hermione, who was handing out badges.

_Crapola. I don't think Harry and Ron will ever live this down. _


	5. Getting to Know Peyton

**Hey, there. Please don't kill me. If you knew my schedule at all, you would understand why I hadn't published anything in so long. The next chapter will be on before April 6th, 2011. So, if you want to get to know Peyton some more, this chapter will help. This chapter is actually quite pointless. Though, it's leading to how she will interfere and how this so called pairing will form. Wow, I tried to make it over 2000 words, and its's almost 3000, so I liked it. I wanted a friendship moment. I am really super proud of this chapter.**

**(c) Any characters you recognize and that have been in the Harry Potter books, do not belong to me. They belong to J.K. Rowling. If I were her, I definitely would be working on the second book for Next Generation by now. Aha. **

**(c) Peyton, Patrick Heck, Darren Anderson (you had better get that referense), and anything else you don't recognize belong to me. **

**Thanks to .net/u/2197901/Sweet_dreams23 for reviewing my last chapter. Only one review for last chapter... that's really disapointing. Please review. Thank you. PS, Check out her stories, she's incredible. And, she's my legit bestfriend, so that may just be bias. But, whatever. She's on my favorite authors list. She writes for Glee stories... so check her out. (Not that way!)**

Chapter 4

As the weeks passed by, rumors were passed around about the "new" Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. They were both good and bad. The bad ones were mostly from Draco and gang. I almost called him "Moony" in class one as I recall. I was quite jumpy that night at supper.

Though it was hard, I actually got used to Hogwarts as my school and as a second home. Although at times during meals Dumbledore would occasionally catch my eye, and give me a look. It was like he knew something. After the fifth day of this, I asked the twins about it.

"Hey Fred," I started, "what's with Dumbledore's looks? It's like he knows something I don't… about myself."

To this, both twins chuckled lightly. "Don't mind that old bloke, Miller. He looks at everyone like that. You'll get used to it after a while." George answered.

I found out in the books, where Fred and George are hardly able to be told apart even by their own mother, it's also the case in reality, or whatever this is. Everyone seems to be fooled by the old, "Excuse me, but I'm George" trick. All that is, except for me. When they tried to put that old joke on me, I shrugged it off by saying, "Nice try, George, but you call me Miller, and Freddie over here calls me Peyton. You can't fool me." But there was something up with why I could tell them apart. One was more, attractive, than the other? What?

What these twins didn't know, is that I also was a bit of a prankster. I used to pull them on my step-brother, Patrick, all the time. On my second Monday night at Hogwarts, twins attempted to welcome me. They told me to meet them after supper in an old classroom and they charmed the room so that once you step into it, you are immediately defying gravity. But I can smell a prank a mile away, so once I got to the classroom, I faked a surprised gasp. The boys proceeded to come out of their hiding places to rub it in my face, but since the charm was only meant for one, Fred ended up in the air instead. From then on, I was officially declared their best friend. But not only that, they told me their fall prank was definitely involving me. I gladly accepted. Who would pass up a good prank?

Well, anyways. You know how we muggles always complain about the ridiculous amount of homework we get? Stop complaining, seriously. We wizards almost get three times as much. It's a bit of a bitch, and I can see why Ron and Harry were putting it off. Not only that, but I can also tell why Hermione nagged them to do their work. It made sense to get the work of the way. So in the common room, it was my turn to be Hermione while the two boys sit across me, working on their future joke shop.

"You know, you really should get started on our work." I smiled, sitting across at a table in the Gryffindor common room.

"We are working," Fred smirked.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's with the smart arse answer?" I asked shaking my head at them.

"Don't blame us, you set yourself up. Also, it would be a crime to pass up a joke." George started explaining.

"Especially the ones where they set up the jokes themselves." Fred finished.

I sighed. "You have a good point, there. Except that was not what I was getting at. I meant school work. This is the work that leads to your joke shop." I Hermione-ed it out for them.

"Peyton, we never actually told anyone about that. How'd you know?" George asked, giving his twin brother a worried look.

I mentally face palmed myself, and looked down around the empty common room. The Joke Shop was supposed to be a surprise in about Harry's fifth year, and it's his third. The room suddenly had gone from a comfortable silence to an awkward and empty space waiting for something to happen. I started to panic when I noticed the twins' title on their parchment.

"Well, let's see. Your title helped, just a tad," I shrugged off the silence.

George looked down at the parchment and snorted, while his twin looked at me... with this strange look on his face. "You little sneak. Creeping over our shoulders at our work?" he laughed.

I laughed and replied with what I say after my step dad asks me if I pulled yet another prank at school. "Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe. Hey, I was curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat," Fred started.

"Fred, I was thinking exactly the same thing."

I checked the time, and it was after midnight. "We should get to bed. We have a test in Lupin's class tomorrow afternoon." I stated.

George smirked, "Your point, Miller?"

"Oh, no point. I guess it would be fun to see howler if you failed from one of your parents. I've never seen one before. Anyway, it's your choice, which leads to your grades, which leads to an angry mum to face at Christmas break, or at breakfast next week."

At the thought of this, Fred and George looked at each other with mock fear. Then I saw realization in their faces. An angry Molly Weasley? Probably not something you want to face.

"Goodnight, mate," George ran pass me, brushing his shoulder against mine along the way.

After taking a moment to gather up their papers, Fred took a look at me and said, "Night, newbie," and ran up to their dorm. Before I knew it I was blushing wildly as my hand flew up to my cheek. It was warm.

At breakfast the next morning I was still blushing just a bit. Hermione decided to sit down next to me, with Ron beside her. She gave me a questioning look and pointed out my flushed cheeks. I simply just brushed it off. I looked behind me at the Slytherin table, where Draco was rubbing his newly hurt arm. "He's really rubbing it in, isn't he?" I asked, starting conversation.

"That's Malfoy for you," Ron explained roughly.

I checked my watch. Where I lived, I would've had my first day of my second year of high school. And my step-brother's second year at St. Mother Teresa Elementary school, where his friends love listening to his heavy British accent. Except I'm not at school, somehow where I should be texting my best friend to meet me. He will be ticked when I don't show up. Darren is completely into the Harry Potter series the one who made me start reading the books. If he knew where I was, he'd tell me to pick him up in Ron's Angela Ford.

Except I can't. I don't know how I even got into this mess.

Abruptly, there was a Ravenclaw shouting, "The owls are coming in!" I and everybody else looked up to see as sight you might never get a chance to see unless you watch Philosopher's Stone in 3D. Owls of all sorts of colors and sizes flew over the tables with packages landing softly in the owners hands. The funny thing is, I expected the background music from the movie. Fred got his mail sitting across me, so I grabbed his copy of the Daily Prophet for something to read. As I took my first look at the paper, some small print of words caught my eye beneath the enormous title. _October 6__th__, 1993_. I did a double take, twice. That couldn't be possible, that was two years before I was even born. My step-brother definitely wasn't born yet, he's only ten years old. He's supposedly born in eight years. Yet, Harry's childhood WAS in the 90's and 80's, otherwise I'd be chilling with Teddy Lupin.

"So, Peyton, why did you come to Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, eating her eggs.

"My parents lived in Canada for the last ten years because they wanted to teach magic to me themselves, only it got a little out of hand last year." Yeah, that's why. It works.

"Do you have any sisters or brothers?" Ron asked. I laughed to myself. Only a Weasley could ask that question.

"Yep, a brother. He's eleven," I started but then stopped myself. If he's eleven turning twelve, then he should be with the first years. When that thought went through my mind, Fred seemed to have read it.

"If he's eleven then why doesn't he go to school with the first years?" Fred asked. Everyone around me had a concerned look on their faces. I suddenly got an idea when I saw Filch walk by the Gryffindor table with his usual stern look.

I avoided everyone's eyes I could. "Um, he's a squib. He goes to school with Muggles." The table went quiet and everyone started to give me looks of remorse. I avoided everyone's eyes, especially the bright blue ones sitting across from me. I don't need looks of concern about something that wasn't true. Somehow, I needed to break the silence. As I took eggs from the center of the table I asked, "Hey George, so do you have any more siblings besides your twin, ickle Ronnie-kinns over here, and Perfect Percy, and little Ginerva?"

To this, Fred replied for his twin, "Yes, why yes we do. Bill, he's the oldest. He can never really tie himself to one girl. We guess he's sort of destined to be a bachelor to the grave. And, then there's Charlie. He studies dragons in Romania. That's basically it. Our dad is really into muggles, and studies them night and day. Our mum is strict and quite rabid. At the same time, she's the ultimate stay at home mum."

"Rabid?" I asked, looking forward to how someone could explain the strict side of .

Everyone nodded. Ron's ears were red from me calling him his brother's nickname. "Lets just say, you don't want to see her mad." Everybody laughed in agreement.

"I've heard the famous story, Harry. Or should say, Boy Who Lived? Do you like, live with your aunt and uncle?" I faked questioned. It's quite fun to pretend you don't know something and play dumb for a while.

Harry took a deep breath in and explained, "Yes, I live with my aunt, uncle and cousin. Should be a good experience, right?"

I nodded, even though we all know it's not true, even the new girl.

"Wrong. My aunt thinks my mum and dad were freaks, so they say the same about me. They threatened to give me absolutely no food for a full week if I did any funny business which I didn't found out until I was eleven, it was magic. Magic I couldn't even control."

"Wow, that's harsh." I said uncomfortably. What do you say after you supposedly learn one of your friends was starved by his guardians when growing up? "Hermione, you were raised by muggles, right?"

Next to me, Hermione answered, "Yup, I was raised by dentists."

I nodded. Meanwhile the Weasleys all looked at each other puzzled. What's a 'dentist'?"

There was a sullen silence until my stomach reminded me very loudly to eat. Right when the Great Hall goes silent for a moment. Yeah, God's out to get me.

o

Classes were all over the place as usual. Snape was a bastard, Binns was dull, and Lupin basically made my day. After supper, I caught George and Fred while working on their Weasley's Wheezes again. Well, they asked me a question. And, I may have helped them…

"Miller! Come here. We may need your pranking genius." George called, while Fred was bent over the piece of parchment.

"You rang?" I sweetly asked, putting my innocent smile on. Not that I needed anything to be innocent about, I had just walked through the Fat Lady portrait after a walk with Angelina.

"Yes, I did. I never though I'd ask this, but do you have any ideas for our joke shop?" George asked ginger hair messy. It was a little clear they were stressing for a new idea. Though I didn't just want to tell them straight up, 'Puking pistils,' so, I helped them.

I first looked around the crowded room, and took in the scene before me before turning to the twins to tell them my 'idea.'

Before me, was group ages varied from age eleven to age eighteen. Every single one of them doing something in their character. I looked towards Hermione, Harry and Ron. Hermione was starting to fuss about something, and Ron's ears turned bright red as he fought back. Harry, still sitting on the trios couch while the fighting pair was by the fire, did a dramatic face palm. I switched over to couches in the center of the common room. Alicia was flirting wildly with Oliver, while he stayed completely unaware of it, telling his pals his plans for the next Quidditch game. The twins recently wanted me to join, but my heart would've been pumping far too fast and I would've been focusing on not trying to DIE.

I then proceeded to tell them. "Okay, so what do students want to the most during class?"

Behind me, Percy interrupted what Fred was about to say with; "Learn, obviously."

I turned to look up at him with the most incredulous look on my face that I could come up with. I know Percy is supposedly written that way, but I couldn't help but think he was really annoying, and only in that sentence. And I also felt a little offended, as he spoke to me like he was speaking to a toddler. Okay, first, I only do homework so I have options after I finish school. Not to learn. That's just overrated. Second, I don't remember speaking to you. Go patrol with your girlfriend, or something. Thank-you, good-bye, and good night." I stated, using my 'go away' voice I used with my step-brother.

When I turned to face the twins, they both had surprised looks on their faces. "What?"

"Peyton, Peyton, Peyton. You've been holding out on us. We didn't know you had it in you." Fred told me, shaking his head jokingly.

"Then you underestimate me," I stated. "Now answer the dang question. Would you like to hear my idea, or not?"

"Okay, George, what do students want to do the most during class?" asked Fred, turning to face his twin brother.

George mockingly held his chin while thinking about it. "I don't know, Fred. Usually when I'm in class, I just want to leave."

I nodded my head in agreement. "Exactly. So why don't you make something that once you eat one half of the candy, you get a rough nose bleed, or start puking instantly. But after dismissed from class to the Hospital wing, you eat the other half of the candy and stop whatever is started."

As I continued to explain my 'brilliant idea' I could see the hamsters running faster and faster in their comedic genius minds. "That's perfect! We could make them for chicken pots, fever… Peyton, you're genius!" George excitedly claimed before kissing me hurriedly on the cheek and running up to his dorm to discuss the matter more with Fred.

Fred took a moment to gather up his stuff. He then came up to me, his excitement obvious as his ginger hair. "Peyton, I could kiss you." I kissed my other cheek and ran up the stairs.

The room was silent for a small bit, everyone watching the new girl who had just some how made the jokers excited.

"Okay, carry on with your own exciting lives. I'm not here for your entertainment."

Since I haven't got a chance to speak to the main three characters of Jo's fantastic world, I thought to maybe see which point of the book we are now.

"What are you three up to?"

"Hermione's pig with hair is trying to eat Scabbers." Ronald complained, looking at the cat in Hermione's lap with great dislike.

"What exactly did you tell them?" Harry wondered, looking towards the stairs.

"A new idea," I replied.

Ron sighed. "Peyton, don't tell them ideas. They do experiments during the summer, at night, right above my bedroom."

I shrugged. "Sorry, Ronnie. You should've warned me."

Hermione, still ticked started yet another argument. "And for the record, Ronald, you should learn how take better care of your pets."

After they both stood up by the fire, I took a moment to sit down next to Harry. "Wow, they flirt a lot." I whispered.

Harry chuckled, "You haven't seen the half of it. And your face is really red."

"Shush. Did I ask you if my face was red? No. I don't think I did. So what happened today? Anything special?"

Harry turned away from the fighting friends to face me. He looked as if he was figuring out how to put what he wanted to say into words.

"Well, today In Defense against the Dark Arts, we faced boggarts, and when I faced mine, I thought I would face Voldemort." Harry waited for me to flinch at the name he had just spoken. To his surprise, I didn't. "Instead, I faced a dementor. Ron faced a spider of course, but I don't know why I faced the dementor." Harry shrugged, suddenly confused.

"It means you fear nothing but fear itself. Have you thought about asking Professor Lupin? He could probably help you. He _is_ the teacher." I told him, trying not to take the moment away from the story where Harry asks Lupin how to fight against a dementor. Not only that, but they get a bit close.

Harry thought about it, and then he nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I'll do that. Thanks, Peyton."

I smiled, understanding why he is troubled throught his life. "No problem. If you need help, you can come to me."

**_Ooh, ooh! Dedicated to KGB, she was super stoked for this chapter. _**


	6. The Room

**Hey... So yeah. I'm a little late. **

**I had this crazy idea. What if, instead of Peyton's point of view... you get to see life from her family? See how they're coping?**

**In certain parts of this chapter, I put as much as detail as I could. In others... weren't as detailed. It's really random.. though. **

**You see what she was like at home.. and how quiet she seems to be in the Harry Potter world... only because she knows how much information can effect a character. It's more of her life than Harry Potter in this chapter.**

**She gets a little under sixty or so words. **

**Any character you don't recognize is my own.**

**(Note:When I say what Darren's hair looks like, see my profile to the link of the picture) **

Chapter 5

"How long has she been gone?" Patrick's best friend, Jayden asked. He was holding over two hundred pages of_ missing_ posters, with his step-sister smiling and looking at the camera.

Patrick thought about it for a moment. "A month and a half, I think" He stated, putting the tape up on the post.

Peyton had been missing for about over a month, now. She went to visit her step-grandparents, and he did just the same, with his. They both went for a week. Though, when she was supposed to show up at the train station, she didn't. They waited and waited, and waited. For over twenty-four hours. His step-mom checked her phone every three minutes. His dad went to every brown haired girl similar to her.

She just didn't show.

At the end of the night, his step-mom was trembling with fear. They got posters all over town, and told her best friend, Darren. He didn't take it too well. On their first day of school, he dropped by their house. Patrick opened the door to a concerned Darren, asking if there was anything wrong. Patrick nodded roughly. "She's missing. She hadn't shown up after going to my grandparent's house, and she still hasn't shown. She just… disappeared. We called the house, but they said that she had been fine in the morning, excited even. But she never showed." Darren replied with, "Answered my every text until about ten minutes until eleven. After that, it was like she just proofed away. Well, thanks for telling me, bud. I'll walk alone."

His step mom was afraid to look in her room, and life now was sort of empty.

Peyton was the joker of her family. Going against British stereotypes, Patrick wasn't all that snotty, but wasn't much of a joker. When he and his father joined the family, they were blown away by how much life she had put into theirs. She made it seem colorful, and fun. Peyton could make anyone feel that they have been taking life too seriously. Now, his dear step-sister was missing.

Patrick never realized how close they had grown since their parents both discovered they had a single child and introduced them at once. At first, Peyton was just annoying as hell to him. She joked about every two seconds, and she could never keep a straight face if her life depended on it. Soon, he had learned to love her, and was ecstatic when he learned that she was officially becoming his sister. Well… step-sister, anyways.

Even if, in the summer she occasionally told him to go away. (7 or 8 times a week) Or if she pulled the silliest and wildest pranks on him. They shared a loving sister-brother relationship between them.

Jayden looked at Patrick sympathetically. In his eyes, Patrick had a look of sorrow. He really missed his sister.

For the rest of the afternoon, they had put up more missing posters, but returned to the Miller-Heck residence with still a little over ninety posters. His dad was on the phone, talking about possible cases how she had gone missing.

"Can we just stop, for at least an hour? We aren't living. Ever since she disappeared our house was one black and white shadow. Please, let's invite Darren over and we can just simply forget about it for a movie. Just a movie. Then we can go back. But I'm tired of this. We're all afraid to make a joke out of this, because it's something we know she'd do! We need to move on at some point. We'll still work on her case, but just not as often. We're all acting as if she were dead. I _feel_ dead." His mom abruptly explained about half an hour after he and Jayden had returned. Patrick had to admit, he couldn't remember one conversation that hadn't involved his missing sister. Every day, he would come home to his father heavily bent over her case.

The funny thing is if Peyton knew that they were acting like this, she'd flip. She'd tell them to get their act together.

Each week she was missing, his mother would gently tip toe when passing her room. As if trying not to wake her up. All three boys around her agreed. They decided to watch_ Alice in Wonderland… _one of her favorite movies.

While waiting for Darren to arrive, he and Jayden hung in his room. "Found your helicopter, yet?" Jayden joked.

Before leaving for England, Patrick decided to have some fun with his remote control helicopter and annoy the hell out of his sister. Witty and smart as she was, Peyton grabbed the thing out of mid air and tossed it into her closet. Her very full of Harry Potter merchandise, closet. To him, it was scary in there. To any Harry Potter crazed fan, it was heaven. But to a kid who has spent the past three years with a dedicated fan, it was scary.

Patrick gave a chuckle. "No, I haven't gone in the room yet."

Jayden's hazel eyes went wide. "You're kidding!"

Patrick nodded. "No, actually." He smiled.

"Dude! I know you're British and all, so I'm going to cut you some slack. But, come on! As her little brother, you need to sneak in her room. That is what any typical Canadian boy would do." Jayden lectured, pacing like there was no tomorrow.

Patrick sighed, looking at his door. Across the hall was her bedroom. "I realize that, but whenever my hand lands on that door knob, Addison just happen to be around."

Jayden shrugged. "So?"

"So, she gives me this look. Like, 'Don't you dare enter your sister's room!' It's like she is afraid that Peyton will pop out, exclaiming, 'Just kidding!'" Patrick explained, brushing dirt off of his blue t-shirt. "I want to look in there, though. To think about her. I want to live her laughter. Instead, we're doing nothing. Though, can we just stop talking about her? It's actually relieving to talk about anything else."

Jayden nodded. "Sure. Hey! I finally made a new score for COD last night. It was mind blowing. I was dancing. I was DANCING." Patrick laughed. He knew that if his best friend were dancing, the occasion would have to be pretty special. Jayden never danced, ever. "My mind was set. You know I've been working on that since June!"

"How could I forget? It's all you talked about. 'Dude, I'm going to set a new score tonight, I swear on it.'" He imitated, even capturing a Canadian accent. "I'm just glad you don't spend every minute on that thing. They kill brain cells."

"Pfft." Jayden huffed. "That's what they say to scare children out of playing it."

"Well, it works in England." Patrick smiled. He barely even remembers the last time he was around a good joke. All of his friends looked at him like he's about to break any minute. What he needed at the moment, was laughter. After talking some more, the door bell rang. Darren was here.

By the time he finished racing Jayden down the stairs, Darren was in, already making conversation with his dad. "So, how is school?" Not just conversation, but really typical conversation.

"Pretty dull, actually. Drama is even a lot more boring. Her punch lines made it more fun. But classes are good; all homework is regularly handed in."

Addison smiled. "That's funny. I can remember last year how she kept complaining that you never finished your homework."

Darren let out a streak of laughter. "That's because she kept distracting me. So, movie night, eh? I brought my kettle corn!"

The house was filled with a chorus of laughter. Addison walked Darren to the kitchen, him stopping by the mirror to fix his brown hair on the way. His blonde roots were coming in. There was a patch of blonde hair on his head, where the roots are. He needed to fix this ASAP. Though, Peyton was the one who dyed it last year.

Using his knowledge from the many times him and his missing friend had spent in the living room on movie nights, he grabbed a pot and started making the popcorn.

The night had been a relief to the family and the best friends of the siblings. After a month and a half of worry, hope, and the urge to give up, they had finally lived once again. Jayden couldn't remember the last time Patrick had smiled so much.

Addison and Nathan couldn't remember the last time when Darren stopped by without a look of grief on his face.

When the familiar notes of "Alice" by Avril Lavigne had come on, Nathan stood up, and walked over to the light switch. In his trail, were tiny salt covered popcorn crumbs. Addison had already started picking up the scattered bowls that were full of seeds and salt. Arms open, Darren had stood up, stretching. It was at least nine o'clock at night. He needed to get home. Fingers latched around the belt loops his favorite pair of skin-tight jeans; Darren pulled them up, and did another quick look in the mirror before starting conversation. Patrick, on the other hand, was quite frankly, passed out.

This, for Patrick, was normal. He barely made it through movies, which is why he's never been to a cinema. Jayden laughed, poking Patrick's blonde hair. He got the pair of legs off his lap as gently as he could, and walked to the kitchen to help clean up. He knew that the parents figured that he would need a ride home. But he might as well help, since his best friend was asleep anyways.

"-definitely do this again sometimes." He could hear, as he was walking through the doors of the kitchen. Good, Jayden thought. Maybe I'll get the guys to stop acting so weird around the guy. But I'll definitely bring over Black Ops.

"Awesome," replied Darren, taking his class of water. "I'm quite stoked already. Although I have other friends than the Peyster, she was the class clown. So, tonight, reminded me that if one person is gone, you just need to carry on; no matter what. And hey, for a fifteen year old, that's a pretty damned good realization." He laughed.

"Mr. Heck, you guys are going to turn off the movie, right? Other wise we may never know what will be going through Patrick's head. It'll be too frightening." Patrick's dad laughed, and returned to the living room, shutting off the DVD player, followed by the television.

Addison Miller smirked at the two boys who were standing in her kitchen. "Jayden, and Darren? I'm guessing both of you need a ride home?"

"Yeah that would be awesome." Darren nodded.

Jayden said nothing. He simply nodded.

The second mother to both boys smiled. "Yeah, thought so. Before, I'm going to need you two to clean these bowls for me. And that pot over there." She pointed toward the stove. "This kitchen was clean when you both arrived, and I plan on keeping it that way." Before either of them could decline her request, she went into the living room, starting to tidy things up.

The boys looked at each other, shrugging. "I wash, you dry?" Darren proposed, handing a towel to Jayden.

Jayden nodded. "Sounds like a deal to me. I don't think we have any choice."

Darren let out some chuckles. "No one ever has a choice when it comes to Addison Miller." He turned on the tap, with the sudden coke that he had that night coming back to him in a rush. "I'll be right back."

Running up the stairs by two, he had suddenly remembered when Peyton had fell down the steps when they were both eight. He couldn't stop giggling, though she had broken an arm that day. He missed her.

After washing his hands with the Gryffindor towel, Darren opened the door, and walked further down the hall to a room that he had seen so many times before. Before he had even a clue what he was doing, Darren opened the door to Peyton Miller's room. It looked as if not much had changed. The only thing new was the dust. There were clothes on the floor, pictures on the dresser, and quotes on the red wall. When Peyton had decided that her blue room was getting old, she wanted to paint it the Gryffindor colors. She had her heart set on the perfect room. Now, she had it, and she barely had a month in it. The quotes were very Peyton like; written in her most graceful calligraphy possible.

One was "_Every Minute You Spend Sad_, is Sixty Seconds of Happiness You Can Never Get Back." Just below, was the quote, "Laughter is the Music of the Heart." Right below this quote, was her favourite. "A Day Without Laughter Is a Day Wasted." If this had been really true, then he had wasted several weeks of life.

Darren smiled, and walked over to the pictures. There were pictures of them being crazy together. In one, they were both in an action shot, in the middle of a tube being flipped in midst of August. Both of them in a sitting position, only slightly upside down, with hair all over the place. He had to admit, the fact that her mom was immensely talented at taking pictures was a bit of a help. By then, her hair was getting frizzy, because she had straightened it that day, and water tends to turn it back to their regular curls. The blue and red life jackets were covering up their entire upper half. There was water gulping up the tube. He remembered Peyton asking for more waves.

One beside it, was them lying on the grass. It's funny; she was taking photos at random times. And the one time when he was looking and she wasn't; the moment was magnificent. The grass was a warm green. She was looking at the sun, a small ball of yellow in her eyes. He, on the other hand, was still blonde then. His blue eyes were just filled with laughter. Though he wasn't smiling, his eyes had said it all. Her arms were straight out in front of her, taking the picture. His were behind his back. Darren could recall looking away after the shot, seeing a cloud shaped like a snitch.

Another action shot, to the left of the tube, was them, in mid air, jumping. The shot was taken from behind. They were only silhouettes. She had her arms around above her head, has if reaching for the sunset-filled sky. Her legs were in a crazy position. Then again, this was Peyton. She let her curls alone that day; her hair was just in a mad scientist position. He was on her left. His legs were simply bent behind him. Around his upper half, was a puffy figure. It was his shirt. That day, he was wearing a light green shirt that went down to just below his but. (It had the print, "That's What She Said") While jumping, Darren remembered a sudden breeze on his stomach. His arms where put into a position if he were about to flex, with his fists put into balls. His hair wasn't too crazy, because his was short, it sort of looked like Zac Efrons... but not too much that it was unnecessary. Darren could recall the day when it was taken. "Let's try and do a jump shot!" She exclaimed, jumping off her new family trampoline and running inside to get her camera. They had tried about three times before finally getting the shot. Four was always her lucky number.

A fourth photo was them when they were about eight years old. On her Facebook page, it had about over 60 likes. On the day she posted it, he had gotten notification raped. He remembered over eighty different comments on the same photo. He could tell why. It was one of the simplest of photos, yet so beautiful. When she was younger, he remembers her mother always having the camera out to capture the moment that may never return. He remembers seeing Addison, laying with her stomach down, exposing a big goofy grin.

In the way of the lens that had taken the picture, was grass. The grass, with visual effects, was the only thing with color in the photo. They were lying on the grass, crayons out, coloring in the coloring books they owned at the time. He remembers, hers was a Disney Movie book, and his was a Waldo coloring book. The moment was when she asked him for the yellow laying right next to his elbow. She asked politely, her usual smile on her face. He was holding the yellow crayon out to him, the sharp end facing towards Darren. The legs of the little eight year old him was kicking his but, but hers were straight out behind her.

He couldn't help but notice they were extremely adorable.

He stopped scanning the photos, and took in some of her posters. There were several character ones from Harry Potter. There was Bellatrix, Hermione, Harry, Ron, even a Voldemort poster. Her favourite one, the Weasley twins, was above her head board. Darren always told her that she sometimes reminded him of the twins. She was almost the female version of them. Darren brushed the thought off.

He took one good look around again. His foot was on a shirt that she worn regularly. Half her stuff was gone, because it was still in the suitcase, (or trunk, as they liked to call it), that she had taken. Turning, Darren decided that he should go and help Jayden do the dishes and return home to look at some photos of his.

Jayden's hands were resting on the pearl counters of the kitchen. The towel was by the sink… let go when Darren had rushed to the bathroom. That boy was gone for almost twenty minutes now. He was a teenager, but he couldn't be taking that long… could he?

Appearing on the stairs was a pair of jean-blue skin tight jeaned legs that were traveling down the steps, one by one. When Darren's face appeared in sight, Jayden could see a smile on his face. He didn't exactly know how, but Jayden could tell that Darren had gone into Peyton's room.

"You're finally ready?"

Darren nodded, taking the first salt-infested bowl. "Yep. I just had to do something, first."

The boys fell into a silence, with the clanking of the dishes the only sound being made, and Patrick's small snores in the next room.

When the dishes were done, Jayden found Addison and told her that the kitchen was finished, and they both would like to go home.

Addison gave them her warming smile. Peyton got her curls from her mother, as well as the caring smile/smirk that always appeared on her face.

When they had pulled at Jayden's house, he got out, thanking her. That left both Darren and Addison in the midst of a silence. "You know…." Darren started, after leaving the unfamiliar roads of Jayden's neighbourhood… "I really appreciate you Millers; slash Hecks' for inviting me over tonight. It's actually what I really needed."

"You're welcome, Darren. Feel free to stop by." She replied, taking the familiar turns from one stop light and towards Darren's house. "Peyton was a big part of all of our lives. If you suddenly weren't coming to our house, that would be devastating. Not only would she be furious at us for leaving you out, but how long you have been friends with her, and how frequent you are around would make it weird with out you around to steal our goldfish crackers." Darren smiled. He could always remember, original flavoured Gold Fish crackers in their cabinet, third shelf up, right next to the bagels which Peyton always had after walking home with him to wait for their Drama rehearsal.

"You know, she's not dead. I can tell. I know Peyton, and who ever took her, she won't go down without a fight. She's fine. I just wish we wouldn't talk about her- like she's dead."

The two in the small red car had kept on talking. Until Addison dropped him off, yelling to call anytime he needed it. Even if it were just to revisit her bedroom. Addison watched the tall boy walk over to the door of his wide and beautiful home. She watched as he took his right hand on the silver knob, and raised his left hand, waving good bye to her.

When returning home, she went into the arms of her second husband. She was grateful that she had two boys/men around her to keep her company. If Peyton went missing and she was living alone, she didn't know what she would do.

Addison brushed her brown hair behind her ears, while walking upstairs. She went to the third door on the right._ Her room. _When the white door was thrust open, a breath was let out. A breath that she didn't even know she was holding in. She smiled, taking in the scent that was her lovable, joking daughter. She was afraid to get used to the fact of Peyton disappearing, because she didn't want Peyton to show up again… just as she got used to things. Though she looked around the room, pausing when thinking of the memory that came with the item she was staring at. She was healing…. little by little.

* * *

"Why did we choose magical creatures again?" asked Alicia, looking over her homework like it was a poison infested snake.

"It was the only last choice... Besides divination. And besides, Trelawney is quite scary." George pointed out, his twin jokingly having his uniform hood up… traveling the stone steps like a zombie while following the steps he was taking.

Fred was still walking like that when he had entered the Great Hall. Harry looked up, only to raise his voice, frustrated. "Oh, come on! Not you, too!"

"Relax, Harry. What's this about?" George asked, sharing a smirk across the table with his brother.

"Allow me to explain. Lately Harry has been getting teased about fainting on the way here. Even if it was just over a month ago… Dr- Malfoy and his friends still harass him by crying Dementor, then bringing up the hoods to try and spook him." I know these books too well.

The twins immediately started laughing. "We should of thought of that." George cried.

"But, we didn't. George was claiming that Trelawney was scary… and I walked like that from that point on. Don't take it personally Potter…" Fred explained, messing up Harry's hair.

On my right, Alicia was still clutching her books. "I am already excited for Christmas break. Stupid school work…"

Ron already had his mouth full across the table. "Amen to that!" Hermione shook her head, incredulous look in her eyes.

"Hey, Peyster…" Peyster. That was what Darren called me. Fred's voice was across the table. I grabbed some lunch… getting my hands on the closest delicious food this castle had to offer. It so happened to be sausages, my favourite.

I smirked at him, grabbing the fork with the indented words, "Gryffindor." "Yes, oh mighty Fredster?"

"Speaking of Christmas break… do you have any plans?" He asked, I could almost hear a tad bit of shyness in his voice. From Fred.

"I'd thought I might as well stay here." Seeing as I can't send a letter to home, I don't even know if the owl will get it in the year 2010. Probably not…

When grabbing the sausage in the fork and inserting the warm taste into my mouth, Fred asks, "You want to spend it with the Weasleys?"

My chewing stopped, and my eyes drifted to the twins looking at me. I had no idea what to say to that. Dude. I was spending Christmas with the Weasleys. I nodded vigorously. I could almost see relief in Fred's eyes.

**IF you're confused about anything... ask me. Please review. Thank you so much to whoever reviews.**


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